Served traditionally on a banana leaf, the vegetarian feast features an array of dishes including avial, thoran, olan, erissery, sambar, rasam, pickles and more, usually ending with the much-loved payasam. The feast is as much about sitting together as it is about the food itself. Onam also brings Kerala’s cultural traditions to life. Vallam Kali, or snake boat races, are among the festival’s biggest attractions, while music, dance, games, processions and other cultural programmes add to the celebratory mood.
